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Project Description

2010 RADAAffordable / Merit

Dan Rockhill’s portfolio contains historic restoration projects, public art pieces, high-design custom homes, and not much affordable housing. So he approached this 55-unit senior housing project with an open mind, going as far as to seek inspiration in a nearby mobile home community. The trailer park model wears a stigma that isn’t entirely unwarranted, he observes, “but you can learn from it and build on it.”

Rockhill’s site plan, which orients units toward pedestrian “alleys” rather than parking lots, reflects the value residents place on connection with the outdoors and with their neighbors. The units employ simple forms and materials elegantly and sustainably. Recyclable metal roofing tops ICF walls; south-facing storefront glazing and concrete floors contribute passive solar heating and daylighting. And each unit opens onto a small private yard.

No matter how modest their circumstances, Rockhill notes, “Everybody wants a little something they can call their own.”